Epicenter
by Keye
Summary: SquallxSeifer.Seifer returns to Balamb Garden at Squall's request with the intent to prove his worth. He hardly expected that to be so hard, or for his arrival to be the least of anyone's problems as a new threat rises.
1. Getting Dressed?

Disclaimer: The usual, these characters don't belong to me, this is AU. Fun, though. ;) Also, the lyrics that everyone will undoubtedly notice as we go on belong to the Goo Goo Dolls. I make no claim to having their talent. Enjoy, and hope to see you for the long haul, since I DO intend to upload quite a few chapters before this comes to an end.

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**Chapter One: Getting Dressed?**

_I'd give up forever to touch you _

Seifer looked down at Squall's naked, sleeping form, and smiled. The brunet looked so peaceful, so calm and angelic laying there, and the blond could hardly believe his situation. Squall was so reserved, so detached from everyone else, but Seifer knew him so well. All he had to do was look at his partner, his lover, to know what the other was thinking, and he was happy to see how Squall opened up when they were alone together. The brunet spoke more and gave Seifer these looks that made him just want to kiss him. At other times, when he saw Squall amongst his SeeDs and SeeDlings with that cold, reserved look, he wanted to do the exact same thing, if only to draw his lover out of the icy shell he was wearing. Seifer didn't just call him "Ice Princess" because of his affinity for ice magic, afterall. Trying to get to Squall's heart was like chipping at an iceberg, and only two people that Seifer knew of had ever managed it, himself and Rinoa.. Squall was still slowly recovering from Rinoa's success at chipping the ice, while Seifer himself had simply melted it away over time, that's how he looked at it, and he was fiercely protective of the heart he'd saved from the frozen prison it had resided in. Squall's problem was that wounds of the heart healed slowly for him, which was what had happened with Rinoa, and Seifer wasn't letting something of that sort happen again. He was going to be the Princess' knight this time, and he wasn't letting anything happen to his Ice Princess.

Still swimming through his thoughts, Seifer gave in to impulse and leaned down to kiss Squall's lips softly, trying not to wake him, but unable to resist those soft, lush lips of his. Squall didn't move for a second and Seifer lingered, just enjoying the sound of his lover's breathing. Without even bothering to open his eyes, Squall's lips responded to Seifer's gentle touch, welcoming him into the kiss in a soft, loving way that nobody else had ever shown the blond, and he couldn't resist it. Leaning over Squall, half-dressed, he slowly increased the force in the kiss, taking it from a soft, gentle act to a more heated moment. Squall's arms reached up almost lazily to wrap around his shoulders, and Seifer felt himself being pulled down slowly but insistently.

"What are you doing with pants on?" the brunet asked a moment later, his breathing just a little heavy as he woke himself up, a small smile curving over his lips. "Did I tell you to get dressed?"

Seifer smirked at Squall's show of aggression, not at all intimidated by it but rather turned on. They both knew who was dominant in their relationship, but that still didn't stop Squall from making comments such as that. It let Seifer know what the brunet wanted without Squall actually asking. "Is that you asking for more? I seem to remember you falling asleep on me last night."

"We were done, you wore me out, I slept it off," he said simply, and Seifer's smirk turned a bit more wicked.

"Fine, then, I'll just have to do it again." Seifer climbed into the Commander's large bed and kissed the man forcefully, being careful not to harm him. It wouldn't do to have Squall walking around looking like he'd had a rough night with a girlfriend he didn't have. Seifer knew this was his heaven, here in Squall's arms, and being the sinner he was, he knew he didn't deserve it. He wasn't going to risk it with stupid mistakes, and he was going to enjoy every last minute of it.

Seifer watched Squall dress later, appreciating the subtle muscle movements as the brunet first pulled on his leather pants, with no underwear as usual, and then worked at buckling the five thousand belts he seemed so fond of. Seifer remembered the first time they had been intimate and how much trouble he'd had getting those damn belts off. There were six total, three around his right thigh and three around his waist, and Seifer loved the way those leather straps looked wrapped around Squall's leather clad body. He just insisted that the belts be removed before they got anywhere near an intimate situation. There was nothing worse than fighting with six belts and a pair of leather pants when you were in a lust-befuddled state of mind, and Seifer had a habit of putting Squall in a situation that kept the brunet from being able to comfortably reach most of the buckles, which left him to do it. Not fun.

Squall seemed to take notice of Seifer's gaze on his body only after getting the final belt buckled, and he looked over, seemingly almost surprised. He didn't say anything, but Seifer knew what he was thinking, just because he knew Squall so well. "Yes, I watching, and yes, I'm definitely enjoying the show. Go on, it's like a striptease in reverse. You'll have to treat me to the real thing later," he said with a coy smirk, quite liking the idea of that suggestion. Even better, he was rewarded with a true smile from the brunet, which was rare, and something he prided himself on being one of the few to witness, nevermind provoke.

"You're just going to be lazy? Laying there watching me get dressed?"

"Well, yeah. The last time I tried getting dressed, you vetoed the idea, so I figure I might as well just be lazy now. It's not like I have any special reason to get up, anyway." The last bit came out almost bitterly, though he managed to cover that part well enough. Most of the people at Balamb Garden, which had once been his family and home, saw him as an enemy who couldn't be trusted, and they made that obvious to him. He would walk down the halls only to receive either fearful looks, or glares. No one other than Squall had ever bothered to ask him about what happened, and he wasn't going to rush over and tell them all. What did he care? If they didn't want to make an effort, he wasn't going to kiss their asses to make them understand. Only Squall understood him, just as only he truly understood Squall through his silence. His Ice Princess, all alone and surrounded by ignorant fools up until recently. No wonder Squall had such strong defense mechanisms.

"Well, come find me when you finally decide to get up," Squall said, pulling a shirt on, then his boots. He grabbed his jacket and his gunblade as he headed for the door, and Seifer watched him go with a blank look on his face, lost in thought for a moment. It felt right to tell Squall that he loved him, but he remained silent. Instead, he let the brunet go, and then set to getting a shower.


	2. Discussion Closed

**Disclaimer: **Again, I don't own the characters or the lyric.

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**Chapter Two: Discussion Closed**

_'Cause I know that you feel me somehow _

The room he was in was insane. Squall hated these meetings, and how everyone kept trying to impose their opinion on him, like they thought he was stupid or a fool. The reporting he didn't mind, that was necessary and useful information, but after that came everyone's opinions, and only on occasion were they useful. Today, the topic of discussion was the blond man Squall had left in his bed, and that was not a topic Squall wanted to approach. Irvine, his second in command, was unusually quiet, and Squall knew exactly why. Irvine, unlike most of the people in this room, knew that he and Seifer were an issue, and the only other one present who shared that knowledge was Irvine's girlfriend, Selphie, because the cowboy couldn't keep his mouth shut when it came to her. Even Zell, a close friend of his, didn't know, and for good reason. Zell and Seifer had _never_ gotten along, and Squall didn't want to deal with Zell's reaction yet. Hell, he was still lingering in his own surprise.

Seifer had only been at Garden for about a week, which was how long it had been since the incident that had allowed for them to get together as they had, and very few people seemed okay with the blond's presence at the Garden. They all expected him to turn on them, or something similarly idiotic, and Squall really had no patience for this.

"Be quiet, all of you!" he said icily, his tone quiet. He rarely raised his voice to anyone, but used the level of frost in his tone to convey his emotions. "Seifer Almasy saved my life and assisted SeeD and Garden in our mission. He is here as MY guest, and he is to be treated as such."

Squall's face remained impassive, and he said no more, not feeling the need to. He didn't like speaking to these people often, and he'd never been much of a talker. Only around Seifer did he ever _really _open up. His thoughts went back to the time they'd spent together, stranded on an island south of the Fisherman's Horizon, and had to work at keeping a small smile from crossing his features. That had certainly been an interesting day or so. He and Irvine had brought a group of SeeDlings to deal with the problem of a serpent terrorizing Fisherman's Horizon and the islands south of that, and they found Seifer just before leaving port. Or rather, Seifer had found them. He'd asked to come, telling Squall that there was no way that the SeeDlings would be of any help with the serpent, and Squall had believed him. It was a good thing he had. Squall himself had nearly been decapitated by the serpent's lashing tail, and only by instinctively standing did he manage to take the tail's blow to his torso instead of his head. The tail had pitched him twenty feet through the air, knocked him unconscious, and broken at least half of his ribs. He would have drowned in the swirling ocean waters if Seifer hadn't jumped in after him and brought him to shore on one of the islands. As it turned out, Irvine had handled the serpent well enough with it distracted by its attack on Squall, and the two men had some time to 'bond' while Irvine and the SeeDlings first sent their injured to get medical care and then set out to find their missing Commander. Squall was glad that they taken so long, as it gave the two of them the time they needed to catch up and be honest with each other, not to mention reach a level of intimacy and comfort with each other that they'd never fully experienced with anyone else. Squall wasn't about to let Zell and the others ruin that now.

"YOUR guest? Just because he dragged your ass out of the ocean doesn't mean you have to kiss his ass!" Zell shouted angrily, probably thinking of all of the cruel comments Seifer had tossed his way in the past. And even worse for the situation, Almasy chose the moment Zell started speaking to walk into the room, and heard the whole thing. With the noise, few people noticed him, though Squall was one of them. This wasn't going to be good, but Seifer said nothing, simply leaning back against the wall to watch and listen.

"Damn straight! He's the Sorceress' lap dog, things like that don't change! He'll betray us the first chance he gets!" someone else added to Zell's comment, and Squall's eyes narrowed. He could see Seifer's mood visibly changing, and he couldn't blame the blond. Nobody had ever stopped to understand.

"I said, be QUIET!" he growled out, raising his voice on only the last word and glaring icy daggers at everyone who had been shouting and agreeing with Zell. "The Sorceress is no more, and I'll hear no more about it."

"That's nice, our own Commander is taking sides with trash like that instead of with us. Who screwed up and chose him to lead us?"someone retorted, and Squall suddenly knew the fury of a captain facing mutiny. He opened his mouth to speak, but found Selphie, of all people, standing to speak first.

The normally perky and energetic girl didn't look her usual happy self, and Squall knew for a fact that she was a strong supporter of his relationship with Seifer. He personally would have preferred that she didn't know, but Irvine was a sucker for her, and he'd told her almost immediately. Maybe that was for the best. "Nobody screwed up! Squall is only doing what any leader should, and giving a valuable warrior and person a second chance! Everyone here has done something to need a second chance before, and we don't know everything that happened. I was there from the start, and even I don't know the whole story. Squall knows more about it than any of us, and he's decided to give Seifer a second chance. I say we all give him that chance, and if he screws it up, then we worry about it."

Squall personally thought that was the wisest thing Selphie had ever said, and one look at Seifer told him that the blond also had a new level of respect for the bouncy brunette as well. Irvine just smiled up at her from his seat, obviously proud and impressed. Squall nodded his thanks as she smiled happily at him and took her seat again, but he didn't smile. He looked at Seifer, and let his eyes speak for him. Seifer could read him in a second, and Squall wasn't about to open up in the slightest around most of these people.

"Fuck that! Selphie's a softie, we all know that!" Squall's jaw clenched and he shut his eyes for a moment to keep from freaking out on these people. _It's so much easier to just not care...Apathy, why have you abandoned me?_ But he couldn't stop caring, and he really was glad of that, even if it was causing problems for him now. His gaze returned to Seifer, but he couldn't find those fiery emerald eyes this time. Instead, he saw a swirling tan trench trailing behind the well-built blond as he walked out of the room. This was going to be a long day.

"But I'm not," Irvine spoke up from his seat, his trademark smirk in place, but it didn't reach his eyes anymore than the emotion Squall's eyes had shown Seifer had reached his face. "And I've given my approval to this second chance thing. The guy screwed up, yeah, but it was the Sorceress' brainwashing that caused it, and he proved himself the day we found him. Squall is a damn good Commander, and we would have been short that without Almasy. I can't say if I like him or not, since I personally don't know him, but I'll give him the chance."Irvine then looked to Squall and tipped his hat to his Commander. Squall almost smiled, nodding in return. It was true, everyone knew Kinneas wasn't one to be soft about an issue, but then, neither was Squall, so go figure. Everyone was silent, and while some didn't seem happy about it, most seemed willing to grudgingly agree with Irvine. Arguing with just the Commander was one thing, but now that his second-in-command had made his opinion clear, there wasn't much of a chance of things changing. Irvine's lack of a public opinion had been what had allowed this conversation to occur, and while Squall wished he'd dealt with it ealier, he was grateful that Irvine had finally spoken up.

He again was about to open his mouth when a SeeDling rushed into the room, running to hand him a slip of paper._ Hyne, what now?_

A call for reinforcements from a group of SeeDs. They had been sent in to help with a group of revolutionaries determined to overthrow the Galbadian government, which had been a little 'confused' since the incident with the Sorceress. Still, they'd paid, and apparently, the SeeDs were having big troubles with the revolutionaries. "I'll deal with this personally. Irvine, Zell, Selphie? You're coming."

He didn't leave room for arguments, and they didn't raise any. There was no time. Squall sighed, as he would have liked to grab Seifer for this, but the man had looked like he'd gone in the opposite direction of their room, and there was no way he'd find him in time. They were just going to have to go without him, and Squall would deal with this situation when he returned.


	3. Freefall

**Disclaimer:** As before, they don't belong to me. Come on, people, review! Tell me what you like, let me know what you don't like, so I can fix it! If I screwed up horribly somewhere, say so! I'd prefer not to end up with flames, but criticism is what makes us great!

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**Chapter Three: Freefall**_You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be _

The battlefield was complete chaos, and while the addition of four very experienced warriors did seem to help, they were all fighting for their lives by this point. The SeeDs who'd called for reinforcements had been in bad shape, some unable to fight, by the time they'd arrived, and Squall had immediately understood why. The invaders had come with magic and a black dragon large enough to give them a problem on its own. It was currently breathing fire on the field, keeping the SeeDs from truly getting close enough to deal with the magic users. This was ridiculous.

"Selphie, Zell, get those SeeDs out of cover and into the fight again the moment the dragon is distracted. Irvine, try to get a shot on the thing, so we can get rid of it quickly," Squall ordered, and he was rewarded with a few nods and no arguments. They knew better on a battlefield. Zell and Selphie readied themselves to run in, weapons and fists ready, and Squall himself intended to provide the distraction. Irvine's custom-made shotgun was in his hands and he was finding an appropriate angle of fire. Now, it was Squall's turn. _Damn, I wish Seifer were here... _ He couldn't help it, and that did bother him some. He'd fought numerous battles without the blond, and quite a few _against_ him, but he still would have preferred to have him present now. _It's time..._

With a determined look in his grey-blue eyes, he drew his gunblade and mentally drew on his magic stores, reaching for ice, his specialty. Ice magic came naturally to him, so it was less draining to use and stronger in battle, which was exactly what he needed right now. Both the dragon and the human enemies had ignored the four of them in favor of beating away at the limited cover the SeeDs had taken, and Squall intended to use that to his advantage. Unfortunately, his line of sight was too obscured by the dragon to be able to reach the humans, but that was something he could deal with, and what he'd told the others he was going to. He ran forward, away from Irvine so the beast didn't attack the sharpshooter before he managed to fire, and blasted the thing's jaws with a jet of ice. That was enough to get its attention.

The dragon whipped its head around and breathed fire in Squall's direction, effectively melting the ice it had been struck with, and Squall just leapt aside to avoid being roasted. From the corner of his eye, he could see Zell and Selphie dodging spells and firing their own at the revolutionaries as they ran for the SeeDs. Fortunately, SeeDs aren't all that stupid, so they were on their feet and fighting anew the moment there was a decent distraction. Now, Squall had to make sure his distraction didn't bring about his death, since the dragon was pretty pissed now. Its tail was lashing about and trying to smack him around, which was something he wasn't about to fall for if he could help it. That tail had a set of three long, curved blades on its end, the longest of the three at the very tip, and the brunet didn't much like the idea of being impaled that day. Avoiding the tail was a major goal.

Flames licked at him from a new blast and instead of fleeing, he threw his own ice up to block the flames intent on harming him and rushed forward, ending up right in the creature's face. It seemed surprised to see him, and he swung his gunblade in an arc directed at one of the few sensitive spots Squall was sure of; its eye. The dragon roared its pain and fury, tossing its head up and in the process hitting Squall and sending him sailing through the air with a few bleeding gashes he hadn't had before. He wasn't anywhere close to as badly beaten as he'd been when the serpent had hit him a week previous, but the reminder of that incident was no fun. He was officially not a fan of reptiles

He twisted in the air, placing his feet beneath him like a cat, his hands facing the ground. He called upon ice magic to form a slick ice surface that he struck only seconds later, his intent being to slide down to land safely on the ground. He tasted blood in his mouth from the blow he'd taken, but at least it was nothing serious, merely a busted lip. With a glance around, he realized that he was essentially on his own with the dragon for now, as all of the others had jumped in on the revolutionaries, and Irvine had been swept up into that part of the battle as well, dodging spells and arrows to fire his gun and toss spells in return. That left Squall to handle the dragon, who was now bearing down on him with deadly intent. It seemed his decision to blind it had angered it, who would have guessed?

He dodged out of the way of a new blast of flames, kept running to the sound of jaws crashing shut behind him, and swung backwards with his gunblade only to hear a new roar loud enough to shake the ground he stood on. He could feel the sound reverberating in his chest, and looking up at the creature's tossing head, he could see a new bloody streak across its skull. He missed the other eye, but still hit hard enough to hurt it. He needed more than that if he wasn't going to be eaten, but for right now, chipping away at its skull was better than being worn out running from those teeth. Speaking of which, those teeth were suddenly reaching for him once again, trying to put its pest of an attacker out of its misery. Squall, still not liking the idea of being eaten, shot a new blast of ice in its face to get it to stop its pursuit, and again swung with his gunblade with a strong downward stroke. He intended to take out its other eye this time, which would benefit him to no end. His gunblade never connected.

A small sound of pain left his mouth as something large, the creature's arm he realized too late, struck him from the side in mid-swing, knocking him sprawling onto the rocks strewn across the field of battle, and another yelp issued forth at a sudden shot of pain in his skull. Without even checking to see if he'd actually hurt himself, since he was sure he'd at least be bleeding from someplace on his skull, his head shot up to see what the dragon was up to. He immediately had to roll aside to avoid being staked to the ground by the blades on its tail, and just that movement made him dizzy. It was only then that he placed a hand to the back of his head to find blood. _Shit!_ He really didn't have room for this in the equation, and as he looked around, he could still see nobody else free enough to help. He knew from looking around that he should be grateful that none of the revolutionaries were helping the dragon, and that he had to move before said dragon finally managed to eat him.

Pulling himself to his feet, he leapt backward to once again avoid those jaws, aware that the thing's tail was still stuck in the ground where it was temporarily unable to swing at him, and stumbled backwards over a rock thanks to a new wave of dizziness. He landed on his ass on the ground and actually had to stay put and recover for a moment before he could even consider doing anything else. As he pulled himself to his feet, he caught sight of that gargantuan head coming at him again, and this time, even dodging aside didn't stop or confuse its attack. His grip on his gunblade tightened quite suddenly as a thousand sharp pains tore through his torso and he felt himself being lifted off his feet, rising through the air in the dragon's great maw. A scream tore from his throat as it shook him, his only goal right then being an attempt to cling to the outside of its upper jaw in order to keep his body from moving too much, and it stopped only long enough for him to catch his breath before it started again. He lost his grip on his gunblade and screamed again, which cause him to choke up enough blood to make him worry about the state his lungs were in.

He could barely see a metallic gleam on the ground the next time he was shaken like a dog toy, and wanted to hope that it was his gunblade. He'd rather have some sort of knowledge as to where it was, in case he ever got out of his current situation. It wasn't looking promising, but one could hope. Without hope, what was the sense in fighting? _Hyne, I going to die, eaten by a dragon. _Right, hope. Of all the things he'd faced and survived, it was a dragon that was going to be his undoing. _No!_ No, he couldn't let that happen, not when he'd only just found Seifer again, and only just realized what they had together. Not when he had so much to lose.

His concentration wasn't trustworthy, he knew that, but he had nothing else to work with, so he had to try. He focused his frazzled mind, and the dragon shook him again, as though sensing what he was doing. Still, it only held his torso in its jaws, his legs hanging helplessly from one side and his shoulders and head from the other. It probably could have eaten him right then, but for some reason it didn't, and he was going to try to take advantage of that. Trying to block out the renewed pain of being shaken and the added dizziness it brought on, he focused on the creation of a single ice spike, praying that it would be enough. He didn't have the strength of concentration to manage another with the beast shaking him around like a dog with a rabbit every few seconds. He gasped for air, the taste of his own blood still strong in his mouth as his magic responded to his call, and though tears of agony and exhaustion fell from his cheeks, the spike formed in his right hand, the hand nearest the blind eye. The dragon wouldn't see it coming, so long as Squall could hang onto the ice long enough to use it. The dragon shook him again, drawing yet another strangled scream from him, and he once again had to cough up blood to keep from drowning in it. From the corner of his eye, he could see a SeeD or two turning their attention to the dragon and himself, but they weren't going to be of any help, he knew that. He had to handle this himself.

He plunged the spike through the creature's already bleeding eye socket, and it in turn screamed and tried to fling him away. The sudden release of the pressure in his chest was at first a relief, and then brought on a new wave of pain as the ribs that had been broken no longer had the support of the teeth holding them in their new place. He held onto the spike, using all of his will right then to ignore the agony that was his body while the momentum of the dragon's attempt to be rid of him, as well as his grip on the ice allowed him to swing up onto the top of its thrashing head. Leaning on one of its horns and hanging on for dear life, he hooked one leg around that horn and grabbed hold of the ice. With one final thrust, both of his hands forced that spike further through the socket, far enough to reach its brain, he hoped. Another violent thrash of its head brought a whole new scream from his throat, again laced with blood, as he heard the leg that had been hooked around the horn snap from the violent movement of his body, and he was pitched from the creature's head. It was a long way down.

With no thrashing and no teeth pressing down on him, it was just a free fall, and surprisingly, no dizziness. He focused his mind one final time, praying he had the strength left in him to finish this before his body broke on the ground, and he once again formed the slick strip of ice to drop him relatively safely on the rock below. It slowed his momentum enough to keep him from harming himself, and had he been in better condition, he have landed on his feet on the rocky ground with time to see the dragon's last thrash before the enormous body fell. As it was though, that wasn't happening. He struck the slick, angled ice with both of his feet, the broken leg shooting excruciating pain up his entire body before collapsing underneath him, and his body struck the ice with a final scream from his throat. He slid the rest of the way on his back and just laid on the ground when he hit, the strength to do anything more not existing in him at that moment. He could hear someone rushing toward him, but he didn't turn to look. He was just too tired, too finished with the fight. He'd gotten himself to the ground safely, and he'd rid the others of the dragon. He was finished, and ready to just sleep.


	4. Mad Dash

**AN:** I am SO sorry it took this long to update, but I went through Basic Training, a serious move, and a switch in computers (which lost a LOT of data, including a chapter outline I had for this story). -.- I'm picking up where I left off, basically from scratch, and it's rather irritating. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and as always, review so I know what you liked and think I should fix!

**Disclaimer: **Don't own any of them, or the line of lyrics.

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**Chapter 4: Mad Dash**

_And I don't want to go home right now _

What right did those assholes have to pass judgment on him like that? He risked his life to help them with that serpent, he saved their precious Commander from dying and leaving them leaderless, and this was how they treated him? Of course, Seifer had his own reasons for saving Squall's life, and if someone else had been the Commander that had been tossed into raging waters, he wouldn't have leapt in to risk his life and save theirs. It was because it had been Squall, and even then, he hadn't been willing to lose the brunet. It was somewhat scary, that his happiness and state of mind could be so affected just by the idea of losing another person that he would risk his own survival to ensure theirs. It was scary, but also somehow fulfilling. He liked the effect that man had on him, and still couldn't believe the whole situation. He wasn't interested in men, and so far as he knew, neither was Squall. They both dated Rinoa Heartily for a time, and Seifer had definitely had his share of girlfriends in the past, but it was this man that had so strongly affected him. It seemed as though Squall wasn't the only one who was more game for men as of late. And so, he was enduring the abuse these people at Garden could hand him, and he was not retaliating. Fighting back would only give them more reason to attack him, even if it was only verbal, and he was trying his best for Squall. He wasn't going to screw this up, and he could never expect Squall to give up his Commander rank in Garden to run off with him. Squall's whole life was here, and Seifer was the only thing in the other man's life that could be relocated. He couldn't ask that, and he wanted to stay with Squall, so he had to endure this. Still, it pissed him off to no end, and he needed a chance to walk his temper off, not to mention curb his conscience.

Seifer actually did agree with some of what they said, and he knew that if the roles had been reversed, he wouldn't trust them anymore than they trusted him. He fought them, and had never truly been friendly to any of them even before he became their enemy. What did they care if his mind had been invaded and his logic twisted? They didn't care if he'd been unable to control his actions. He cared about Squall more than he would have even admitted to himself long before that, and he'd been forced by the Sorceress' power to attempt to kill the brunet. Sure, they sparred many times in the past, and they both marked each other in one particular match, but killing Squall was the last thing he wanted to do. But no, they didn't care. And somewhere in his mind, he couldn't help but think that he deserved this treatment for being weak, but most especially for the things he'd done to Squall, even if he hadn't been in complete control. Images of Squall hanging shirtless before him as he pulled the switch over and over to send excruciating jolts of electricity through the brunet's trembling body ran through his head, as did the sounds of screams. Squall had screamed for him then, and he stayed strong in the face of accusations and questions that Seifer himself had known weren't true. His own common sense had told him that it was bullshit, but he'd still done it, and Squall hadn't tried to lie to stop the pain. He screamed and cursed, and he resisted before escaping, and though it was a guilty, horrible memory, Seifer knew that it was better than the alternative. Even then, some part of his mind had acknowledged his attraction to the brunet, and with no true inhibitions under the Sorceress' hold, her power had called for either violence or violation. Torturing Squall in an interrogation was better than the alternative, and he'd chosen a method that didn't scar intentionally. He knew Squall wasn't aware of this, but he was, and it made all the difference to him. He resisted enough to save the future Commander of Garden that trauma, and then lived to be the same man's lover. Now all he had to do was keep from screwing everything up.

"Seifer Almasy!" a woman called out, and he twisted around, pissed at being pulled out of his thoughts. It was Quistis Trepe, who had once been his instructor, and she had a whole troupe of SeeDs behind her. _Great, what now?_

"What?" he demanded hotly, unable to stop himself, but she regarded him evenly, not at all rising to his temper.

"Squall, Irvine, Selphie and Zell answered a call for reinforcements from a squad of SeeDs on assignment, and we just received a new call from Irvine for more help," she said grimly, and Seifer's eyes widened as his heart sank. He'd never been a full member of SeeD, but even he knew the field rules. The highest ranking officer on the field who was still in fighting condition would send out a call for help. No matter what, that should have been Squall. The fact that the cowboy had sent out the call meant that something had happened to Squall, not to mention the fact that it had to be serious if those four needed further back up.

"I'm coming with you," he said firmly, his countenance showing steely determination and fury for whoever had harmed his Ice Princess. Inside though, his heart had leapt into his throat, and just the thought of Squall being dead made him grow cold with fear. Quistis merely nodded and continued on her way down the hall, headed for the vehicles. He joined her at her side, following and praying silently that Squall had simply been too busy in the fight to send in the call himself. _Hyne, please, let him be safe... _ He never been overly religious, but now was the best time he could ever think of to ask for divine help.

The ride to the battlefield was not long in their high-speed vehicles, but it could have taken an eternity and been quicker in Seifer's mind. His brain was going over a thousand different scenarios for Squall in his head, and he didn't like any of them. "How long is this going to fucking take?"

"We'll be there in just a minute, Seifer, calm down," Quistis scolded him with a stern look, and he just growled out his frustration and returned to pacing. The SeeDs present were watching him curiously, as though they didn't understand his rush, but he ignored them. He was interested only in getting to Squall, and as the vehicle stopped, he ensured he was the first one out the door.

He scanned the battlefield, searching madly for his lover, and didn't find him fighting the human revolutionaries, which was what he expected. Still, he scanned that area again, assuming that the Commander would be fighting the most dangerous of the enemies with his SeeDs. His attention was claimed by a deafening roar off to the side, and he whipped his body around to face that scene.

Only to find himself watching an enormous black dragon with a human in its mouth, shaking the person and sending blood droplets flying in all directions. But what caught Seifer's attention was the slow appearance of an ice spike in the man's black-gloved hand, and the sudden thrust of the spike into the beast's ruined eye. He watched the dragon attempt to fling the man away and the warrior's desperate hold on the spike, then he admired him landing on the dragon's head and his further forcing of the spike into the creature's eye. He knew even before the dragon roared again and thrashed its head, just from the sight of the blood-streaked white fur around the collar of the man's leather jacket and the leather pants, who it was, but he couldn't force himself out of the trance he was in so it didn't entirely register in his mind. Watching Squall, not as his lover sprawled out across the sheets of their bed or as the fool SeeD he had to defeat for his Sorceress, but as the Commander and warrior he was, just floored him. Squall had once said that he wasn't worthy of being Commander, but only now did Seifer see just how wrong the brunet was and how right he been to argue with him. He'd known the man was wrong when he first heard those doubts, but now was only further proof. Squall was truly magnificent, but that thought was followed by a familiar scream. Seifer's heart froze up at that sound, again getting images of the torture session with Squall and the sound of the man's screams, identical to this one, and he saw Squall fall, knowing there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Fire wouldn't stop Squall's fall, and there was no other magic he trusted enough that would do the trick. _Damn it, I have to do something!_

But even as he watched Squall fall, trying to figure out some way to stop it, he saw the man shift in the air and create a slick ice slide similar to another that was still standing quite a distance away. He couldn't help but smile at the skill his lover possessed, though that smile faded when Squall landed expertly on the ice slide, obviously having perfected this trick, and fell due to one leg giving way beneath him with another scream that just pierced Seifer's heart. He was racing towards the brunet before Squall had even come to a stop at the end of the ice, not moving when he finally did land. It seemed like hours of running before he finally reached the Commander's side, and he was very vaguely aware that the dragon had finished its thrashing and was also laying still on the ground. Squall had killed the dragon, but had the beast taken him with it?

Seifer knelt beside him, ever so gently reaching out to lift his head as his eyes traveled over the length of that leather clad body. Squall's leg was bent at an odd angle, quite obviously badly broken, which explained why it had collapsed when he landed on the ice. Blood had trailed over his pants from the many wounds in his stomach and chest, and his shirt was hardly recognizable as having been white, while some of the hair on the back of his head was matted down with blood, probably from a head wound of some sort. There was blood on his chin, and as the man took a deep breath, he exhaled with a coughing fit that spilled blood from his mouth, answering Seifer's question as to what had caused the blood on his chin, and getting him severely worried. That meant that at least one lung was punctured, and probably both of them were. The tears in Squall shirt were enough to betray just how many of those teeth had impaled him, and Seifer hadn't even looked at his back yet. _The heart, please let his heart be untouched..._

"Seifer?" Squall rasped out, looking up at him in confusion, as though he couldn't believe that his lover was there. Seifer really couldn't blame him for being confused, since he'd only known what was going on because Quistis found him. He forced a smile and nodded, finding the sight of Squall laying there so weak and injured to be absolutely heartwrenching. He had to get him to safety.

"Yeah, babe, it's me," he said gently, glancing around to make sure he wasn't about to get shot down when he tried to move Squall, and then turning his gaze back to Squall's stormy, gray-blue eyes. "Don't worry, everything's going to be fine."

"Too much...blood," Squall choked out with a gurgle preceding the newest coughing fit to assault his body.

"It doesn't matter, I'm going to help you," he reassured him, trying to settle his mind enough to concentrate on performing cure magic on his lover. His mind was a mess, though. _Focus, idiot, his life depends on it!_ He couldn 't heal Squall well enough to leave him entirely healthy, but he could definitely ensure that the injuries were no longer life threatening, if he hurried.

"Too late...too...tired," Squall's voice faded, and Seifer shook his body as the brunet's eyes started to close, desperate to keep him from dying. _Come on, prove your worth! Dragging him out of the ocean was nothing, heal him! Anyone could have swam to shore, this is major! He's going to die!_ he mentally berated himself.

"Stop it! Don't close your eyes, look at me! Keep your eyes on mine, don't let them shut, damn it!" he demanded, resting his hands on the bloodsoaked shirt. "Come on, babe, you took on the dragon all alone, you can survive this."

He kept his eyes steady on Squall , nudging the brunet every time his eyes started to close, and the soft green glow began to spread from his hands and into Squall's chest. Seifer held that for as long as he could, concentrating on healing the internal damage, the damage that would kill his lover, and took a deep breath as the glow faded and he realized that he couldn't hold it any longer. He closed his eyes at some point, and now opened them again to see that Squall 's gaze had vanished beneath his eyelids. His heart skipped a beat, worried that Squall had died before he managed to heal anything, but the brunet sighed, this time not coughing up blood. _He's alive, oh thank you, Hyne, he 's alive... _He wanted to sit there and just hold Squall in his arms, but he knew better. The battle was winding down, but it was by no means over, and he wasn't about to risk Squall's safety after coming so close to losing him once already. And despite Seifer's attempt at healing him, his leg was still untouched, and the wounds from the dragon's teeth were still present, even if the internal injuries had been healed. Most, but not all, of the broken ribs had also mended, but again, Squall was by no means in good condition. The gash on the back of his head, though clotted, was also still present. Seifer needed to get him back to Balamb.

It was actually Irvine who managed to fight his way quite literally _through_ the revolutionary that had managed to get himself between the two men and the other SeeDs. It seemed to have decided to attack them while Seifer was distracted by Squall's condition, and he didn't become aware of it until a groundshaking explosion struck somewhere behind him. He turned and ended up looking through a gaping hole in the shapeshifted form the human had taken on, only to see Kinneas' smirking and bloodied face on the other side. The man looked like he been through one hell of a fight, but he was still enjoying himself. His smile faded however, when he climbed over the revolutionary and to Seifer's side.

"Oh, shit, he doesn 't look good," the cowboy gasped, kneeling next to his Commander and coming to realize exactly how much damage had been dealt. He'd seen Squall fight with the dragon and just how badly the beast had hurt the brunet, but had been unable to do anything about it. Seifer didn't entirely blame him for that, but he wished the cowboy could have used one of those damned explosive rounds on the dragon.

"No, he doesn't. I used Cure magic to handle most of the internal wounds, so he's not drowning in his own blood anymore, but I need to get him back to Garden for some real medical care," Seifer explained in the calmest tone he could manage, his hand coming to rest gently on Squall's pale, angelic face, which was so badly marked with blood. The brunet looked so calm and peaceful like this, and Seifer hoped his state was at least restful. Irvine seemed to notice Seifer's gentle, loving expression and movement, and suddenly reached over Squall, into a pouch on one of the belts around Squall's right thigh. Seifer had never noticed the pouch before, but then, it was small and he was usually in quite a hurry to get those damned belts off. Now, he was glad Squall wore them. Irvine produced a set of keys from the small pocket, and smiled in a friendly manner as he handed them to Seifer.

"These are the keys to the smallest vehicle here. It's the one Squall, Selphie, Zell and I took, and it can get you back to Garden fast. The rest of us will just hitch rides on one of the others," he explained simply. "Now, go."

Seifer didn't need to be told twice.


End file.
